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Recording Vocals (The Microphone)

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The elusive “magic" vocal track is an age-old drama in the recording world and no matter how good technology is getting, recording vocals is still an art form in and of itself.

There are several factors involved. In Part One of this series we talked about the “Room." In Part Two we will discuss the “Vocal Mic."

This often takes a lot of trial and error and no one mic is perfect for every vocalist. A lot of producers both new and old refuse to be fussy and choose mics that fit most easily into the mix. This is especially true if it's a highly produced song with a lot of things going on. I've seen some very high end recording situations where producers use a Shure SM 57, 58 or SM-7 instead of the many much more expensive mics available to them. Many singers that have had unsuccessful recording sessions using high-end mics actually remain loyal to these cheaper mics throughout their career.

As you are experimenting with these mics (especially the condenser and tube versions) be sure and play with distance. If you have a good sounding room it's quite often very helpful (especially in more dynamic pop/rock type vocals) to back off the mic 8-12 inches. Experiment with this, because how close you are or aren't to the mic can really affect the bass response. This is called proximity effect. For some music it's great to be close and have a huge fat bassy vocal. For other recordings it will just sound boomy and even dull. Back off and you'll suddenly hear some space around the vocals that can make it sound much more natural in the mix. This is less true of dynamic mics as they are built to be sung very close to. You will need to use a pop filter if you are singing directly into the mic, which is much of the time in the recording environment. It's good to use one of these even with a dynamic mic in a studio situation. The best way to position an LDC or Tube mic is up above the mouth at about eyebrow height, pointed down at the nose. This is often the very best overall angle to get the most balanced, resonant tone from the vocal instrument. If done right at about 10-12 inches from the singer, a pop filter is often un-necessary. If the singer constantly lifts their head to reach the mic, and or if it's the kind of vocal that works best with a singer getting real close for the quiet parts and backing off for the louder parts, then definitely grab the pop filter.

Vintage tube mics are certainly a favorite among singers and producers for producing amazing presence, warmth and detail. They can be very costly though, and require a bit of know-how in choosing the right one. The classic places to start here are of course the Neumann U47, U67, M49, AKG C12 & Sony C37. There are a ton of other very cool vintage tube mics out there as well, that can sometimes be had for much less than these standard classics and still offer a lot of the qualities that we love in this kind of mic. As with mics of all types there are a lot of current companies doing a nice job making tube mics for a fraction of what the vintage classics cost. Given the choice it is very hard to compete with the originals but there are great vocals being cut every day on new mics. I'm a big fan of tube mics and find them well worth the extra expense, set up time and sometimes maintenance. This is especially true if you're trying to get a very upfront natural sounding vocal. Not that intimate vocals can't be done with other mics, but things will quite often fall into place a little easier with a nice luscious tube mic.

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